This set collects, in part, the recordings in which Frank Sinatra first came to public prominence: as the "boy singer" (as singers were sometimes known then) of Tommy Dorsey's big band in the early 1940s. This isn't the confident, seen-it-all, ring-a-ding-ding swinger that was the voice of the 1950s and '60s, but a very young, very romantic (almost too romantic) singer still under the influence of crooner-king Bing Crosby and the trombone phrasing of Dorsey. The Dorsey band of this era was more of a pop-oriented "sweet" big band than a hard-swinging outfit like Count Basie's or Benny Goodman's. The sound is marked by an easy, swaying swing and Sinatra's star-struck singing, which flows like hot fudge on a sundae (with none of the rollicking vinegar he would later bring to his sound.) If you're looking for the early days of the man who redefined the art of popular singing, THE POPULAR SINATRA--with its excellent sound, liner notes and photos--is a superb listen.